


The Last Moments of Jessamine Kaldwin

by Attano



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-13 07:06:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11754627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Attano/pseuds/Attano
Summary: How should Jessamine have felt in her final moments? Seeing your daughter being taken from your arms by an assassin, the same one who would cross your belly with a sword moments later?How must it have been for her to see Emily disappear into the hands of those men, to see Corvo impotent unable to help them and see herself dying in a rug of her own blood as the pain quivered all over her muscles?What were his last words? Your last moments?This work takes place in Jessamine's vision during her murder.





	The Last Moments of Jessamine Kaldwin

There she was, grabbing his daughter so as hard as he could while Corvo fought those strange masked men who came from the roof. Who they were? What they want? That was obvious, she knew. It's not first time he had been target of assassins, but these men were different, appearing and disappearing like ghost in the night. Where are the guards? Why did not anyone show up even after the shots fired by Corvo? Who sent them away? Burrows, she thinks, it could only be him. 

It's true that she has discussed much with Burrows in recent weeks because of the plague. She does not like him as much as he does not like her, but he was a political genius and so she kept him around as his father did. After all, it was not like she could not control him, or so she thought, she never been so wrong. She never thought that Burrows could attempt her life, it was too much even for him. But there she was, unguarded because of him, with her daughter's life in her hands while there was only trust in Corvo. Not that she did not trust her Lord Protector, but those people possessed powers and were in greater numbers!

She looked for the exit, he thought of escape with Emily, but his thoughts were interrupted as one of those guys came in that direction and advanced against Corvo. She had no choice, if she ran they could catch her at any moment, all that remained was to stand next to her protector and hope that he would be able to stop them. Emily held her so tightly that Jessamine could swear to hear her daughter's heartbeat. 

Finally Corvo defeated the last of the men, and like the others he vanished into smoke. When Corvo put away his weapons, Emily escaped Jessamine's hands and ran to him to hug him. Finally over, she thinks while watching Corvo return to embrace Emily and try to calm her. 

"Corvo, thank you," Jessamine smiles in relief. Fear still controls her, but she seems better. "If you hadn't been here..."

The same sound they made as they disappeared reappeared in their ears alerting her to the presence of one more, but this one was different and did not carry weapons in their hands. She could not believe it, the nightmare was starting over again.

"No, no more! Not again!" It demands, as if it could somehow control the killer, but it fails terribly. He held out his hands to Corvo, and a green mist covered him, taking his feet off the ground and immobilizing him in the air. At that moment she feels totally vulnerable, and she is. She heard Emily screaming "Mommy" as she tried to run back into his arms, but something went wrong. Another of those men appears without explanation between them and grabs Emily's arm trying to pull her with him. This man is different, he does not hide his face or wear black clothes, but only red clothes.

"No!" She screams, the body instinctively moves to protect her daughter and she stands between them pushing her right arm against the killer's throat and driving him away from Emily. "Get away from her!" Jessamine demands and Emily ends up curling her feet with her mother and falling to the floor. Corvo can not do anything but watch. Jessamine may feel that Corvo is trying in all ways to free herself from the influence of the other killer, but that fails miserably. She hears him mutter "Leave her alone!" But the killer ignores him completely. 

When she realized it, she was standing before the red-skinned killer who looked furious over the intervention. Maybe if she had not intervened he would have just taken Emily, but she would never allow it. The killer has cold, dark eyes and she discovers he was devoid of any emotion. The man leaned down a little and made a powerful slap against Jessamine. She tried to protect herself with her hands, but she could not keep up with the killer's movement. The blow is so strong that her body turns alone and she almost falls to the ground. Her face is burning and red, she has never been treated that way in all her life, she has never caught anyone. Fear filled her eyes as her heart threatened to leave her throat. When he turned to the killer again, he saw him advancing toward him with his weapon in his hands. 

"Corvo!" He's the only person she can call, and he can not do anything. She never felt so alone, powerless. The murderer's left hand wrapped around his throat and he pushed her back as he choked her. She felt her back pressed against the marble as she grabbed the killer's hands trying to break free. But her strength, even with two hands, is nothing compared to that of the man in red. She can not breathe, nor can she see Emily while her face is directed to the sky. 

The sun looked so beautiful for a brief moment, she screams as she tries to break free, but her scream disappears when she feels a terrible pain and stun in the stomach. Something very cold and aching stirs between her guts, the pain is indescribable making her lose her voice, not only the voice but also the will to resist. His neck bent forward, overcoming the killer's strength and forcing him to hold her by the back of his neck. She can see, she can finally see the cold object that slowly draws his will, his strength, his life.

"So this is how it ends?" She thinks, feeling the taste of blood trickling down her throat. The legs begin to become soft, like the rest of the body. The killer is a professional, even though it was close to his heart, the few seconds he had to move the blade through his body was enough to cause irreparable damage. Jessamine hears Corvo screaming his name while still trying to break free. She also hears Emily calling her "mommy" with all her strength. She can feel the voice of Emily failing, probably her daughter was crying. 

Who was that man without compassion? That made a child watch the death of the mother before their eyes and yet did not show any regret. Was he human? No, he could look like a man, but his eyes and heart were more like a monster. The anguish of seeing a cold metal through his flesh was unique Jessamine and she would give anything to not have to see or feel it, everything except Emily. One of his hands clings to the killer's red coat, the other is immobilized in the air on its own. The nerves get out every second while the pain paralyzes your brain. The last thing she'll see is that scarred face? Is that red outfit? Or it will be Emily, when her eyes briefly escape the man in front of her and swerve to a right-hand direction in which Emily is still lying on the floor and watches with terror and tears in her eyes what that monster was doing to his mother.

Before the killer can pull the blade from his flesh, his eyes briefly visit Corvo in his prison. The Royal Protector's eyes are on fire, in anger and guilt. She does not blame him, there's nothing he could do for her, but she knows he'll blame himself for the rest of his life and she's afraid for it. Only when the killer pulls the sword does the damage is revealed. His blade bathed in Jessamine's blood while the empress's stomach gushed like a glass of water. The various drops of blood that flew from Jessamine fell all around the ground around her, staining the killer's boots, like her red clothes, and falling very close to Emily - or even fell on Emily.

So much blood.

It was so much blood that close to the feet of Jessamine had been created a puddle. She never felt so weak in her whole life, which is justifiable considering that a metal ripped her organs. His body looked like a rag now handled solely by the assassin's hand on her neck. One of his legs lost his balance and passed in front of the other. She felt she would fall to one side, but the killer stopped her. Why? As the blood left her body, she could say nothing but a brief cry of pain. As soft as the body was her brain, the vision was blurred and darkened, and she saw everything spin because of the ruthless form the killer commanded her body. She sees, in that distorted way, Emily with her face terrified with so much blood and also sees how red spots stain the white clothes she wore.

So much blood.

Time slows as Jessamine falls to the ground. Her innocent blood surges out, turning the man even more crimson than before. He steps back without any emotion on his face. Her eyes grow wide as shock and pain overtake her. Emily wails at the sight of her bloodied mother. The delicate white and black silk of Jessamine's blouse shows a growing pool of red in the center. Cruel. He was a cruel murderer. It was not enough to take her life, but also to throw her to the ground with brutality. The man in red opened his legs for balance and forced Jessamine's head with all his strength to throw her on the floor. 

She felt the killer's heavy hand on the back of her neck forcing her to fall to the ground as blood slid from all directions. Weak and powerless to fight, incredibly she felt her body trying to react in some way, for it did not fall directly, but landed with her knees on the ground. When her knees hit the ground she did not even feel it, her already limp legs gave no more pain sensations. However, her heart ached when she saw her knee only two feet away from Emily. What the little girl was thinking? What she's think? What?! Jessamine could not tell what hurt any more, the hurt or the way Emily looked at her. This man ... Was he going to kill Emily too? Would he really? She could not accept, could not leave, yet there was nothing she could do. 

As one Kaldwin fell, another rose. Maybe the fear was too much for Emily, but when she saw her mother covered in blood and about to fall to the ground she could not stand still. She looked at the man wondering if she would be next. Jessamine heard Emily's footsteps running as her head collided with the icy marble. The collision hurt, but the pain in the stomach was worse. She felt something cold running down her head, whether it was blood or not she would not know. Someone else would have been still, with every fiber of the body hurting or losing sensitivity, but she needed to know what happened to Emily. With what little strength she had left, she turned her face in the other direction and watched her daughter try to run away from it all.

"Emily, run ..." She whispered. He hoped Emily could get through the gates and call the guards. But he realized in the innocence of his daughter the mistake that little Emily made. Emily looked back, unable to abandon her mother, no matter how frightened she might run. Jessamine felt the back of her eyes burn as tears threatened to burst. That was his last sight of his daughter. That was his last sight of his daughter. Emily's watery eyes begging for the man who pinned Corvo away as she called by Corvo's name. The man somehow managed to keep the mist that the Lord Protector was running with just one hand and with the other he took advantage of Emily turning to her mother and grabbing her arm from the ground and Immobilizing her as she struggled to loosen up.

The last sight of his daughter; Emily with her bloodstained clothes - her blood! Looking back, scared and crying as she watched her last moments. They would not kill her, it becomes clear when the man took her in his arms, but that was far from comforting to Jessamine, what would they do with her then? What terrors would they put her through? And then, his daughter, disappears in front of his eyes like a man who captured her. Tears streamed down Jessamine's eyes as she watched her daughter disappear, the end of the green mist, and Corvo's body colliding with the ground.

"Emily!" She wanted to scream, but she did not have the strength. The body was warm, in fact it was her blood was and she was lying on a rug made by him. 

Wait, the man was still there. The man in red. What was he doing there? She discovered this because when her daughter was gone, her eyes closed for a moment, and as she opened them she saw the bloodstained black boot of her killer. Lightly she looked up, trying to stare at him, but failed. He watched her, but why? Did he expect confirmation of his death, like a professional, or was he simply amazed at his bloody work? Anyway, she never knew.

"It's too much" Jessamine thought. She did not know what to think, she had nothing to think about, she was dying and her daughter was kidnapped. How should she act? The terrible pain forced her to squirm, the disastrous events shed tears from her eyes. Hiram really want to rise to power? 

What was that day after all? As usual, she would always spend a part of the morning in the same place to clarify the ideas. The sun was terribly comfortable, the sound of the birds and the ships on the shore seemed to brighten their day, as well as hearing Emily playing with maids or even guards. She had had the magnificent news that Corvo would return two days earlier, that is, today. She could not be more excited, hoping that the man she loved would return with great news, hoping that some of the islands had found a cure to deal with the plague. But then there is Hiram. The Spymaster at one point wanted to bring the dealings on the royal table out of her, tormenting her in her time of rest. He insisted on blocking certain parts of Dunwall so that the infected would be quarantined, as if they were criminals or animals, she had already discussed it a thousand times with him and yet he insisted. Until she finally warned him that he would not discuss it any longer. Then Emily came, saying that Corvo had arrived and was there to see her. Dismissing the Spymaster has never been easier, then came Corvo. The happiness of seeing him after so long was overshadowed by the terrible news of the islands, they never dealt with the plague and would block Dunwall until the city was reduced to rats. Still, he tried to console her and even managed to one day so that only they and Emily could spend a day together in commemoration of his return. Then she left her sorrows aside and decided to take advantage of the day, and that's when it all fell apart. The murderers were so quick to appear. Fear and confusion dominated her for long seconds as Corvo struggled with them, but she hoped it would be all right. That was just one more of many failed attempts. Unfortunately she soon discovered, seeing Corvo immobilized, that it was not. And now she was in her final moments, agonizing in disgrace, betrayed by her empire, watching her daughter disappear, Corvo impotent, and her killer watching her as a work of art. Seeing now more calmly, the sun was not warm, in fact its intense glow irritated her, the heat that warmed the skin and the blood made the wound hurt more intensely. The birds stopped singing, frightened by the shots. The sound of the ships seemed far away now, weak.

In the end, there was no worse day than that. It was incredible, she thought, the way one day can change from one form to another with a single decision by one person.

The breath begins to weaken. Every second seems like an eternity. It was as if she had all the time in the world, but because of weakness she could do absolutely nothing with him. She could not look at that killer - her killer. But she remembers perfectly that scarred, dark-looking face. She could not curse him, she had to keep her words for what mattered. But she hated him from the bottom of her heart, not for her, but for Emily. She could not even see Corvo. But she heard him creep up to her as she called out her name and begged for her to take it. She could only think of her life. Had she been a good Empress? Had she been a good person, as her father asked in her final moments? Had she been a good mother to Emily? How would Dunwall remember her? Her family? The Kaldwins. Would they be remembered as a family of disasters or as the family that gave their lives for their people? What about Corvo? Would he blame himself for not being able to do anything or would he remember the good times he was with her? Would it be a reason for good or bad memories for everyone?

She saw the assassin's boots turn and begin to distance themselves. He was leaving. After his work, he was leaving. When farther she could see him to the waist, her boots disappeared on the way the same way they brought him. What were those men? Sent from Outsider? Did the Void himself want it? No, only a man wanted her dead. Hiram Burrows. She can only think of how foolish she was to have trusted him, to have welcomed him into the tower. With difficulty she turned her face to the other side and saw in more detail the body of blood in which she lay. It was really a lot of blood. She knew, she knew she would not survive, and she could only whine about the things she did not do. She was too busy being an empress who often forgot that she was a mother. Poor Emily, she thinks, had to live with an absent mother. She should have told Emily who her father was, surely the moments between her and Corvo would be more intense. She should ... But now it was late. Corvo will tell? Corvo... 

She heard Corvo's voice and breathing getting closer. His arm stretched out on the icy marble was finally reached by his blood, which soaked his clothes. She felt a shadow over her head and figured it could only be him. She had to tell him, she had to say. Did he have to know what to do, or did he already know? She felt Corvo's hand touch her shoulder and then another was placed on his back as he lifted her a little off the ground, but not too much as the blood poured out more quickly. Unbelievable or not, her body stopped shaking as she felt the warmth of Corvo's body overlapping hers. He could finally rest his neck on his hands, Corvo's other hand gripped hers, which was bathed in blood and he squeezed it tight. She returned the grip as hard as she could, even if it was weak, very weak. Corvo's cracked hands were certainly from a fighter, but not a cruel killer, and now she knew it. When she met his eyes, she noticed that he had tears in his eyes too, though he avoided-she knew-to shed them to look strong, to look safe for her.

His eyes were totally the opposite of the killer in red clothes. While in this man she could only see darkness and emptiness, the look that Corvo had light and was full of good memories, her and Emily. Then she found herself wondering if it was possible for a man to become as cold as that murderer. Could it be that in some universe, someone like Corvo, could become a killer as or even worse than that guy? She thinks not. She could not see Corvo in that position.

Even if it were possible. And it was not as difficult as she thought.

Corvo is trying to appear strong, but she sees the pain in his eyes. She would do anything to change that, but she could. She asks any deity able to listen to her so she will not let him drown in sorrows and become something bad. She asks that when he remembers her, it was the good times, not that. Yet, she must say something. She feels the sweet embrace of death approaching and she fears that, then she realizes she is not brave - no one is facing death. She is afraid, she feels the tears escape her face easily. She does not want to appear weak either, but she has no choice, she can not control. Your daughter is gone and soon she will, never know the end that Emily as. It's terrible, it's rude, it's reality. All she can see is her world falling apart. Your memories being shattered like pieces of glass in a giant void. And she feels Corvo's hand tightening hers as she moans in pain. 

"Corvo..." She's got the strength to talk. "It's all... coming apart". That's all she can describe to him. It's all she has the strength to speak. She hardly notices how her voice is broken and weak. But she notices how the eyes are weighing more and more and she struggles so they do not, even if long winks come. 

She feels Corvo pressing her fingers against his lips, to save energy. She notices how Corvo clings to a hollow hope that she can be saved, but she knows she can not. ""We'll get a doctor. Just wait," He begs. "Please wait. Don't do this. Just hang on." She notices how his voice is broken too. 

Corvo's face is sometimes dazzled by the sun's rays. She moans. That moment, that awful moment reminds her of the death of her father, Euhorn. She remembers her childhood. With his father, his maids and also friends Delilah and Marta, with Cole the Lord Protector of his father, with Corvo. She lost her mother when she was very young, younger than Emily is, and it seems that the same disaster was about to be repeated. Were the Kaldwins really so unlucky? Still, his childhood was good, his father was kind and paid him as much attention as he could. She wondered if Emily had any friends between the servants, as she had with Delilah. She spent her entire life with her father until he died sick in a bed, it was the worst day of her life and Corvo was not around to comfort her. It was a day as terrible as this. She wanted to spend more time with Emily, as her mother did not spend with her, but in the end Emily would grow up without her in the same way. She had her father at least, she waits with all her might Corvo can find Emily. He must. It is your duty as a father. She does not blame him, but demands that he find her. The difference between them, in her childhood, is that Jessamine had known her father since she was young, but Emily does not know. She lived with her father and mother, an advantage Jessamine never had, but she did not know he was her father. To keep the rumors only as rumors, that Jessamine had fallen in love with her Lord Protector, they did not even tell Emily that she would not spill and expect to tell when she was older.

Corvo should tell her. She must grow up knowing she still has a family, even if I'm not there with her. What did they do to Emily? What must she be thinking now? I feel so sorry for her.

Jessamine gets the energy to move Corvo's hand away from her lips so she can continue. "Find-find Emily." She fights the pain so she can say what she wants. But it is not easy, the pain is very powerful. All that forces her to continue is the thought of her daughter and Corvo. "Don't leave her ... alone."

She remembers that Corvo did not want to leave. He did not want to get away from Dunwall and leave them unprotected. But he was the best she had, he was perfect to protect the islands since it protected her own life. She wondered if she'd allowed Corvo to stay, would things be different? Would this still have happened? It's something else she'll never know. 

"Protect her." You have to protect her. Not just the killers, but Burrows and all the empire who wants to use it, she thinks. "You're the only one who can." She feels her voice getting weaker. "Tell her ... What I could not ... Tell her ... that you are ... your father ..." Jessamine's eyes have more tears now. She's really crying. She sees how Corvo turned her face to wipe the tears from her own eyes. 

"No. We will protect her together, as we always have. You have to be there for her too. She needs her mother." She feels him caress her face and smiles in response. The innocence in Corvo's words, as if he did not know what would happen, contrast with his lifelike posture and make him remember when he was young. "Please Jessamine, I need you, Emily needs you." He insists, as if she had some control over it. She can not keep fighting, every second she feels more tired. "And we agreed, you'll tell her what I am to her. I can't imagine a world without you, please ... just please ..."

She remembers the words she told her father in the final moments. They were similar to Corvo's words.

"I'm sorry, Corvo. I wanted to be there, but ... I'm so tired." She cries. Corvo puts her hand on his face.

"I'm sorry Jess, I'm so sorry, I could not be here for you, I could not help you." He whines and makes her heart beat faster. "Please sorry". 

"It's not ... your fault." The difficulty in her voice increases. How much time does she have? How much more can she hold? She wonders. What will be your last words? "Please find Emily, save her, make her good, make her feel loved, and remind her ... that I will always love her, both of you. Do not let her lose hope ... in people for this .  
And neither should you." Suddenly the breathing became more agitated. Jessamine's hand tightened over Corvo's.

"Sssshhh It's okay" He said, trying to calm her. Corvo's tears mingled with her blood. "I'm here, I'll always be here. I'll never leave you, never. I'll find Emily. And I'll never let you forget you ... Neither do I. I love you. I've always loved you and always will." He bends down, touching Jessamine's forehead with his forehead. He kisses her hand to remind her of the old moments. Somehow he calmed her. 

"You're the only one who can." She repeats in her thoughts. "You, Corvo, are the only ones who can save her and protect her from anyone who wants to exploit her, because ... you're her father, Corvo." But everything is only in thought. She's too weak to talk. The sunshine does not bother you any more. She no longer feels the blood wetting her back. Corvo's touches seem anesthetized by something. She's dying. She knows she's dying. She sees that she is dying. The eyes are in the middle now, it is impossible to open more than that and the tendency is that they keep lowering. The spasms stopped. Was it a good thing? Somehow. She knew, she had been through this with her father, after the spasms comes the calm and then nothing comes, is the end. The pain was still strong, but it seemed distant. She feels something dripping wet on her forehead. It's Corvo's tears. She wanted to have more time. Say more things to him. But her tiredness and dry throat prevented her. She looks at him with her last sighs, and thinks of everything they spend together.

She remembers when he came from Serkonos. How Gristol's nobility did not like him for being a Serkonian. But she liked it from the first time she saw him. She remembers to announce to the public that he would be his Lord Protector for the rest of his life and the way everyone reacted in a weird way, by choosing a Serkonian for such a high office. She did not choose, it was her father, with Burrows attesting to Corvo about something like providing good relations with the other islands. But she could not have been more pleased. She was not just looking for a bodyguard, but a friend. Jax, another protector of his father, was like a rock, a still statue that never expressed itself. Corvo was like this too, except with her. With her he always opened, always talked and laughed. She remembers the way he led her into the room after the stress she caused in the room because she had advertised him as Lord Protector. He remembers the dance that they had at the ball during the selection, as Corvo was shy and did not know how to dance and it was horrible. That's when they gave their first kiss. She remembers him making a braid on her, laughing at her and asking how he knew and he claimed he already had one in Serkonos. She remembers the Christmas they had together, with them throwing snowballs at each other and willingly hit the Spymaster who spied them in the face. 

And there were many other things.

She remembers Fugue Feast, which they had a fight and she tried to make their relationship closer. From the chess they played in the room, with him jeering at her when she mentioned a lord she would have liked. How they competed in horse racing and camped on top of a hill. Of how she saw a couple on this hill enjoying the view, the pregnant woman and the man stroking her belly and she wondered if she would ever be her. She remembers to force Corvo to go to Fugue Feast with her. She also remembers how she ended up in disaster and she saw him kill a man for the first time, since this man tried to abuse her and he lost his head. But also how after that they get closer still to the point of sleeping together. How some time later they visited Serkonos and she met Corvo's father. They danced all night, Corvo had finally learned to dance. How they once ran into a cave while it rained outside and the others searched for them, but it was their private moment. Of how they swam in the river, how Corvo taught her to float, and they ran through the bay of Serkonos barefoot with their feet in the water as she threw water at him. How he helped her overcome her father's death. And so many other moments that passed through Jessamine's head like a movie.

And then came Emily. Born of this love between them. A forbidden love because of their positions. She, the Empress, and he the Royal Protector. She was to marry a nobleman, not a Serkonian soldier. To protect Emily and the Kaldwins' name they kept Emily secret from her fatherhood. But the rumors between them always existed, even before Emily, but now fed by their existence. 

Corvo never asked for a family, but maybe that was what he lacked in his empty life. From the moment he met Jessamine he completely changed. Formerly a cold, distant, and quiet man who could easily adhere to the killer's way of red. Now a warm, close and loving man. She remembers how Emily hated sleeping early, and that it was often necessary for her and Corvo to go to her bed and for Corvo to tell her sleeping stories. She remembers how Emily often demands that the guards leave their post and play with her, that is, until she meets Corvo, who was immediately asked to hide from her. She remembers their first Christmas as a family, Corvo and Emily building snow castles as she simply watched and remembered when they were younger and had hit Burrows in the face. Now she was an empress and could no longer be seen doing these arts. The existence of Emilly does not disturb their hidden encounters. And she regrets the many times she was not present for her daughter, who was very busy with work. It is not easy being the daughter of an empress, or an emperor, she knew it and understood how Emily felt, but with luck growing up she would understand.

All this. Everything passed before Jessamine's eyes in a few seconds. Every moment, good and bad. All the events that led to this disaster. All the people she met, even the traitor.

She found herself looking at Corvo's face and at the sun without uttering any reaction. How long she had been silent was a mystery, but Corvo was not very much in the same position. She blinked quickly. 

The hand was numb, she no longer felt Corvo's callused hand.

The eyes weigh more. She feels distorted hearing and the sun is purple and not yellow.

She sees Corvo running a hand over her face, but does not feel it.

"Jess..." He murmurs in pain. 

"I love you." She whispers, almost imperceptible. She'd like to kiss him one last time, but she does not have the strength to ask. She tries, in vain, to raise her hand to try to draw her face to hers, but the hand does not move halfway.

But what is this? Corvo noticed and took his hand again. As if he knew her wish, or shared it, he brought her face closer to hers and one last time his lips met. He closed his eyes to hide the tears, but she did not allow herself to do the same, because she knew that if she did, she would not be able to open them again.

The last Kiss. 

She remembered the first one.

Her lips are numb too, but she can feel Corvo's slightly. Corvo in turn feels the soft lips he had not felt for months and blames himself even more. He feels the taste of blood coming from her mouth and thinks how horrible the feeling she is feeling. 

They separate their lips one last time.

For a while she watches the sky, now white. He could no longer see the sun, only a white ball lit. Time is running out. She needs to make sure he knows. That he knows what ... "You'll know what to do..." A small spasm shakes his shoulders. It's a statement, but she needs to be sure. The very little strength he has left is arranged to say those words. "Won't you?" His face that stared up at the heavens finally moved a little to the side to stare at Corvo directly. His last move. 

"I know. I will save Emily, Jessamine. I promise..." His voice is as broken as hers. "I-i love you..." He said. She could not say for sure, but Corvo's sobs finally arrived. Anyway, her final words were enough for her, she felt confident and felt she could leave everything to him. With the person she loved.

What was this icy cold that she feels from nowhere? Is it the sweet embrace of death? She does not feel anything else. The whole body is numb. The pain ... is gone. The last ray of sunshine hits your eyes and then they close. His last sight is Corvo making him a promise. The promise that she would give everything to him to fulfill. Again, the memories struck her, but faster, she saw her whole life pass before her eyes in that last ray of sunshine in her last moments.

She uses the last little vestige of her strength to murmur a word: "Corvo...". 

And then she can not keep her eyes open anymore. She feels the life leaving her. The rigidity of the body is lost, the hands fall back in the pool of blood, and the neck falls to the side. There was one last whisper from Corvo calling her by her name. And then like a shadow, before being taken fully, she sees the boots of some people approaching. In the end, she dies in the arms of the man she loved.

Dark. Too dark to see anything. It is death finally embracing her. She can still hear, very far away, the voice of Corvo. 

The voices disappear. There is no sound, there is nothing.

And then...

... the pain is gone.

The regrets, the memories, everything is gone.

She does not know if she'll wake up in another world. If there is life after death and honestly it does not care. She came to an end. And the final image in her mind are the faces of Emily and Corvo smiling.

She experiences the last memories one last time, and then ... she's gone.

/

Corvo watches as Jessamine's body loses life in his hands. He could not help wailing, crying, but he could not let his weakness stand out in the last moments of the woman's life he loved. Of the woman he failed to protect. Now he just wanted to yell, but he did not, he did not because he could not. He had a duty to fulfill, the last order of his empress, the last request of his love, and he could not let the madness gain space until he fulfilled it.

He squeezes Jessamine's body tightly against his while the tears fall and pray to the Outsider, to any deity, that she find peace.Corvo is broken. But he has a promise to keep. That was when he heard the arrival of the guards. He slowly lowered Jessamine's body to the floor and when he stood up to explain, he was charged. Accused of killing the woman he loved, the most precious person in his entire life.


End file.
